Chapter 127: The Mental Hospital in the Swamp

At the break of dawn, two off-road vehicles pushed through layers of tall grass, speeding away from the cluster of yurts.

Leading the way was Tatar’s red Ford Raptor, with Wu Miaoran driving behind. Inside her car were Li Tianque, Ling Chi, and Fatty Bi, who was still half-asleep. Wu Miaoran had arranged for Sumiduo to stay behind at Wolf Totem, tasking her with coordinating with Xiaoyu.

On the road, Li Tianque borrowed a phone from Ling Chi. He couldn't wait to remove the SIM card from his own phone—which had only half a display remaining—and insert it into the new one. As the screen flickered to life, Li Tianque felt as though he might burst into tears. As a modern person, he could barely survive six hours without a phone, and he had gone six full days without one.

To his disappointment, however, it wasn't a smartphone, but a rugged military-grade device capable of satellite communication—something akin to a "senior phone." While it was drop-proof, wear-resistant, and waterproof, it couldn't download any apps.

*Forget it. Even if I had a smartphone, there wouldn't be any signal out here anyway...* Li Tianque consoled himself. Although he couldn't access the internet, having a phone in his pocket brought him a sense of security, especially given that his body had not yet fully recovered.

The vehicles headed south. Wu Miaoran was still using the same satellite navigator from their previous trip, which reminded Li Tianque of their experience in the Hell Devil Valley, instantly making him feel uneasy. Fortunately, Tatar was leading the way, rendering the navigator mostly ornamental. The device’s repetitive commands to "make a U-turn" only confirmed Li Tianque’s suspicions that his anxiety was well-founded.

The grassland appeared flat, but the ride was incredibly bumpy. Li Tianque felt as if he were sitting on a flying carpet from Indian mythology, nearly being tossed out several times. While Wu Miaoran and Ling Chi didn't seem particularly frightened, Li Tianque and Fatty Bi remained terrified by the mere mention of wolves. Neither of them could use their pest-control devices at the moment, and as a generation raised on countless wolf fairy tales, the fear of wolves was etched deep into their bones.

Li Tianque was responsible for searching along the north side of the rock piles. This area neared the transition point between the wilderness and the grasslands; the green of the grass faded here, like green waves washing up onto a shore. This oil-painting-like scenery should have been breathtaking, but to Li Tianque, it felt eerie. He held a magnifying glass, moving the purple light it projected back and forth, desperately searching for clues.

The range of the magnifying glass was broad, covering a circular area three meters in diameter. Anything touched by the purple light turned white. Li Tianque had seen Duan Xiaoyu use it once at Gashi Mountain; if any substance containing nuclides was present, it would turn deep brown, standing out clearly against the white background.

He walked slowly, holding the magnifier. The prolonged exposure to the white light made his eyes ache and even caused a sense of vertigo. He had to stop frequently, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds whenever he took a break.

After trekking about two kilometers, Li Tianque suddenly caught a faint, heavy scent of mold. Looking around, he realized he had wandered near a marsh, and the smell seemed to be coming from that direction. Strange—shouldn't a marsh have a fishy, foul odor? Why did it smell like damp, moldy wall plaster?

Just as he was pondering this, he noticed a small brown trace at the edge of the light cast by his magnifier. Overjoyed, he shone the light directly onto it. This time, the brown traces became more numerous and clearer. Following the trail, he saw that the brown marks extended forward, seemingly leading into the depths of the marsh.

Li Tianque immediately contacted the others via walkie-talkie. They regrouped at the parking spot and drove to his location. By the time they arrived, Li Tianque was already waiting in the middle of the marsh. It was shallow, with the water not even covering his shoes.

When the group reached him, Tatar’s expression turned noticeably tense. Seeing this, Wu Miaoran immediately asked, "Tatar, is something wrong here?"

"No... nothing," Tatar replied vaguely. "But I’ve heard there used to be a psychiatric hospital around here. It’s been abandoned for a long time. That place... it’s a bit cursed."

"A psychiatric hospital?" Fatty Bi scoffed. "Give me a break. Who would build a mental asylum out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"You don't understand," Tatar said. "Back when a group of educated youth were sent to our tribe and the surrounding counties, many of them lost their minds—whether from overwork or other reasons. To treat and house them, this center was built. After the youth returned home, the people here eventually left too, and the hospital was abandoned. The marsh we’re standing in now was the hospital’s old sewage ditch. That dilapidated building should be up on that slope."

Li Tianque looked closely and noticed the marsh was indeed filled with old, discarded debris. Following the direction of Tatar’s finger, he saw a cluster of dark, looming structures. Wu Miaoran looked through the magnifier at the traces left by the nuclides and murmured, "It seems we really have to go over there. That guy must have hidden inside!"